The Moony Tale
by deluminator
Summary: It's what we've always wanted to read, and now it's here: The Prisoner of Azkaban from Remus Lupin's point of view. Prepare to be surprised, because Harry and Sirius are not the only things on Remus's mind while he's teaching at Hogwarts! Not slash. A bit AU, but sticks to the plot of the original book. Rated T for later chapters, just to be safe.


**Chapter title:** Feels like yesterday

**Chapter notes:** The chapter is quite short, and I'll try my very best to make the next ones longer! Disclaimer at the bottom.

**Chapter warnings: **None yet.

* * *

The past years of Remus Lupin's life had contained not too much to be proud of. He had been a few years abroad, living with his equals in disguise, never showing himself in his human form. And then he had been about a year off living with his uncle in Ireland. He had spent a lot of time on the run as well, hiding from those who remained loyal to Voldemort after his disappearing. Back when Voldemort was still in power, he had recruited werewolves all over, but with a special interest for Remus. Perhaps it was because of Remus's closeness to Albus Dumbledore. He knew that there were still Death Eaters out there, searching for him. Wanting to have as big a group as possible for Voldemort to return to.

Wherever Remus had been for the past twelve years, he'd never felt at home. Not properly. Not once. It had come as quite a shock then, when Dumbledore had sent him a letter, only a few days ago, wanting him to teach at Hogwarts, the place where Remus felt as home as it could get. He had received the letter only a week after he had heard the shocking news of the Azkaban breakout: Sirius Black had escaped. This was the reason why Remus had answered Dumbledore's letter at once, saying he'd take the teaching position. He had to protect the one thing that Sirius could possibly be after. The one person who Remus felt a huge urge to watch over. He had to protect Harry.

Harry Potter - that poor boy. He was only thirteen years old and still, he had been through enough trouble for a lifetime. If only the boy had known what was up for him next ... Not that Remus doubted that he'd be strong enough to take the news. No, not at all. It was just that he wanted a normal life for the boy. That's why he had never asked Dumbledore to become Harry's guardian. Harry couldn't have a parent who disappeared for three days every month. No... Remus could never become a father. He sure wasn't suitable for that job.

So instead he focused on the job that was now ahead of him. Think, to become a Hogwarts teacher. That was just the kind of thing that James would suggest for Remus as a joke while at Hogwarts. But James could never have understood ... Hogwarts was the one place where Remus felt accepted for who he was, and where he actually felt that he could fit in. He was heading back home this Autumn, and despite the circumstances, Remus had to admit to himself that he was looking extremely forwards to it.

Right now, he was enjoying a hot drink at The Leaky Cauldron. It was still a dozen of days to go until the start of the semester, so Remus spent the most of his time reading up on the stuff that he would be teaching this year. Although he was good at his subject, it was a fairly difficult task to remember _everything _that you're supposed to have learned during your seven years at Hogwarts.

Remus took a sip of his drink while he turned the page over in _The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection_. He was reading about the subject that he most definitely knew the most about, but also which he loathed the most: werewolves. Remus read:

_Werewolf bites should be thoroughly and magically cleaned, as the werewolf's fangs are venomous. However, there is no cure once you have become a werewolf, so try and avoid being bitten at all costs. _

He snorted so loudly that the waitress, who had just now showed up to take an order for lunch, jumped and dropped her pen. Remus sighed and payed for his drink. He wasn't really up for a meal, so he closed his book gently and put it back into his suitcase. Due to the fact that he was in hugely need of a Gringotts visit, he rose from his chair and strolled towards the rear courtyard that lead the way forwards to Diagon Alley.

As always, it was quite crowded in the Alley this very Saturday noon. It was extremely hot. Almost everyone who passed Remus had unbottened their cloaks. Children were wearing t-shirts and eating ice cream. He checked the place for familiar faces, and when he noticed none he walked straight down towards Gringotts. He was stopped, though, by a tall, black, bald-headed man in a long, blue cloak.

'Remus,' the man greeted him in his dark, calm voice.

'Hello Kingsley, didn't see you there,' Remus smiled while he checked his arm watch. It was half past one, so he did have time for a chat, although his body told him otherwise. He was still very tired from the full moon earlier this week, so he really just wanted to go get his money, and then relax back in his room at The Leaky Cauldron.

'I won't keep you up for long,' Kingsley assured, 'I wanted to know though, what tempted you into a teaching position. Was it Potter?'

'Well yes, partly at least. It's also a very good offer salary-wise. It's not looking very good for me economically these days. I'm actually heading off to Gringotts at this very moment, to pick up some of my last Galleons. What lured you here?' Remus wondered.

'Oh just the daily search for Black, you know. Fudge wants to invade this place with Dementors, as if it ain't enough with Aurors at every corner. I, as so many others, think - or rather know - he's wrong. Black got past the Dementors before, didn't he? I just think it would've been a waste to put them here. I believe Fudge does know that too, but he is embarresed,' said Kingsley.

'Embarresed?'

'Well, he suspects that people will start to think that he's not doing a good enough job as the Minister for Magic, if Black isn't caught soon. And the truth is that Fudge in fact is clueless in this situation. But if he starts to ask for advice, it won't look like he has it under controll. So therefore, he does things which makes it seem like he does have controll,' explained Kingsley sharply. 'Which of course only makes him look like an even bigger fool, he added with a chuckle.

Remus faked a short laugh. If it was true what he suspected - that Sirius had made it past the Dementors by turning into Padfoot - then Kingsley would be very right indeed. The Dementors wouldn't have any effect on him.

Although it was selfish, Remus knew, he couldn't make himself reveal the secret of the Marauders. It was that one piece of information that they had all promised each other to keep for themselves. It would probably have helped the Ministry _a lot _with their search for Sirius, but it was something inside of Remus that made him swear to himself that whatever happened, he wouldn't reveal that detail. Like something snapped inside of him every time he even tried to think the thought of disclosure. Was he a bad person for it? He liked to think not.

'I do agree,' said Remus shortly. His head was really spinning full of other thoughts.

'Well, then. I'll have to get back to Tonks. She's really Alastor's student, but he's not doing very well these days,' murmured Kingsley and nodded his head in the direction of a young woman, probably in her early twenties, about fifteen feet away. Tonks had bubblegum-pink, long hair with stripes, and she wore a matching pair of dark purple robes. All in all she was quite attractive where she stood with a smile and a wave.

Remus looked back at Kingsley and nodded. 'I'll be seeing you then,' he said.

'Yes. Good luck, Professor,' smirked Kingsley as he passed by Remus and walked up to the woman who was waiting for him. Remus instantly started walking down towards Gringotts again, but he had only walked ten feet when his heart skipped a beat.

There, at a table at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, sat James Potter. He was writing something on a bit of parchment. His glasses, his untidy black hair, his pale skin and his a bit lanky body. Yes, it was definitely James. Yet, it couldn't be. It was just not a possibility in the world.

James looked up from the parchment, not directly at Remus, but at something not far away. His look was just close enough for Remus to get a glimpse of his sparkling, green eyes behind the glasses. A glimpse of Lily.

Remus felt as though he was looking into the past while looking at this thirteen year old boy, who he now knew to be Harry Potter. He hadn't seen the boy in twelve years, but right now it felt like yesterday that Lily had been boasting about Harry's first steps.

Remus felt frozen to the ground as he kept staring at Harry for second after second. Then, after something that felt like ages, reality struck him. He released his eyes from the boy and started to walk quickly towards Gringotts once more. Remus did not want Harry to notice him now. He wasn't prepared for this, and he didn't know what to say to the boy just yet. He'd wait until they got to Hogwarts.

Still with his heart in his throat, Remus walked into the Wizarding Bank, which he'd reached at last.

* * *

**A/N** _I've wanted to read The Prisoner of Azkaban from Remus's point of view for a very long time now, but I haven't found any stories, so I decided to write one for myself. POA is my favourite book and Remus is my favourite character, so it all kind of matched up. _

_As I mention in every fanfic, my native language is NOT English, so I'll probably have a few grammar mistakes and misspellings here and there. Please let me know if you find any, so that I don't make the same mistake twice._

_I'll have a new chapter up in not very long. Please rate and review!_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter (though I wish). This magical universe and these astonishing characters belong to Rowling.**_


End file.
